Perhaps I should have been more diligent in hand-to-hand combat training. My shortcomings are very apparent here. Not that the possibly controlled people here are skilled combatants, but...there are many.
I've kept my powers hidden for a very long time. I've never had them completely cut off before. It's...I cannot hear the cloud songs....
I'm doing what I can to keep the others here safe. Some are ill, or hallucinating. Otherwise, we are fine. Something other than the attendants watches us. We're destroying as many relic skulls as we can.
I'm sure you will still have critiques on how I handled the situation. I look forward to sparring with you again when this is all over.
[Bakugo's taken aback at the message dumping into his mental inbox as stands outside his room, eyes widening slightly in a telltale scanning action. Reading over the words brings a flurry of emotions back. Frustration over not having been able to prevent Dan Heng's capture, sadness at what he had to endure in the cult, and anger over the quiet call for help within the message. A letter written in the loneliness of captivity, bemoaning his own weakness yet still trying to stay strong and caring as he and his fellow Outsiders fought their own battle as best they could from within the walls.
If this message had come when it was timestamped, Bakugo would have had far different to say about it. Demanding to know where the dragon was, any coordinates or hints at his location, a promise that they'd be there soon to rescue him. But it hadn't come then; it came now. Too late. Too little. But he can't dismiss this as pointless either.]
I'll make sure you can kick anyone's fucking ass next time.
[Normally it would've come with a cocky threat or a promise, but Bakugo can't find it in himself to augment the words with his usual violent assurances. Not after what Dan Heng went through.]
You got your powers back, right? They can't shut them off forever.
[Not the cult, not even LILITH. Their abilities are their own, tethered to their own worlds and separate. Even if it takes ripping the ocular out of their heads, they can regain them over time.]
You guys fought as hard as you could. I wish we could've found you sooner.
[It almost feels like he should apologize for the failure, but Dan Heng would likely brush it off as not his responsibility to do so. Doesn't change the feeling.]
Damn right I'll critique your scaly butt for getting kidnapped. Prepare to get owned next time we spar.
[ it isn’t so much about how noticeable she is, scars making her stick out like a sore thumb regularly. maki just never expects people to care about her. ]
pisses me off we couldn’t do anything to stop them from inside. we tried our best to break out. i killed so many of them.
if you all hadn't destroyed the skulls you did, the fog never would've lifted. and the messages you got out gave us an edge in the rescue. don't look down on your own efforts.
[ Within minutes of him returning to Denji's sides, Ereshkigal had fallen asleep. Much as she'd protested, she'd been exhausted. But a week or so later when she's finally stopped crying and the headaches have become more tolerable, she sends him this message: ]
My apologies. I must have fallen asleep before I could answer your question.
I am indeed the Mesopotamian goddess, Ereshkigal. Though I am greatly diminished in this vessel. A necessary tradeoff for me to be summonable and walk alongside humans.
It was surprising, few are those who remember our culture. Fewer those who would know of my name. I am heartened to know it was not forgotten in your world.
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